Aston Martin DB AR1
Encyclopedia
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
that was made by Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
and Zagato
Zagato
Zagato is a design consultancy and engineering services company situated just outside Milan, Italy.The company's premises occupy an area of , of which are covered....
for the United States market in 2003. The AR1 name stands for American Roadster 1. It was introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2003, when it had no convertible top at all.
The Zagato press release of January 2003 states: “It is based on the current DB7 Vantage Volante
Aston Martin DB7
The Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The grand tourer was available either as a coupé or a convertible. The prototype was complete by November 1992, and debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March, 1993, the car was styled by...
(convertible) and boasts revised bodystyle with coachwork by Zagato”.
The DB AR1 uses the powerful 6.0 litre, 48-valve, V12 engine
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
from the V12 Vanquish.
Only 99 examples were produced for sale; Aston Martin built one additional example for their own factory collection. It has a top speed of 186 mph (299 km/h) and a 0–60 mph acceleration time of 4.9 seconds.
The DB AR1 roadster sold for US $226,000.